


Cusps

by mmbop



Series: Mundane Fantasies [1]
Category: N/A - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Not a fanfic, Original work - Freeform, Other, lesfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:07:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28398177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmbop/pseuds/mmbop
Summary: You work at a grocery store. A new girl joins one day and maybe you don't hate your job so much.
Relationships: Reader/Original Character (F)
Series: Mundane Fantasies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2079843
Kudos: 1





	Cusps

**1**

**Y** our eyes forced themselves open at the sound of a screeching, pulsing alarm, and you begrudgingly slung your body upward in your full-sized bed. Rubbing your right eye, you let out an unrestrained yawn that accompanied a long stretch of the left arm. _Sigh. Here we go. Monday morning._ Another week began. You slipped into the sky-blue fuzzy slippers your mother bought you for Christmas last year. Sauntering across the worn grey carpeted floor, you made your way, first, to the kitchen of your tiny apartment. God, you were thirsty. It seemed that on most days, you woke with not a thought more than rehydrating your body. It did not matter if you had to pee, or were starving, or if your breath smelled. Water, the elixir of life, it demanded your consumption before anything else.

After finishing every last drop of your cup of cold, refreshing beverage, you made your way to the bathroom. We will abbreviate this moment, as it is a private affair, but just know that you take good care of your personal hygiene and understand the importance of cleanliness before truly beginning the day.

Every day, you wore the same type of outfit, burgundy polo shirt and black pants, as required by your company. The choice of shoes was a “free” one, and today, you wore a pair of black tennis shoes with a white rim. Nothing special, but you noticed that your feet hurt less in these. As you were putting the finishing touches on your outfit, usually a necklace or bracelet, which reminded you throughout the day that you were still a person, your phone began to ring. It was mom. “Hey, baby. Don’t forget, you’re supposed to take your aunt to the hospital today.” Oh, you had definitely forgotten, until she called. But this was a great way to start the week, a reminder that you wouldn’t have a lunch break today, because you’ll be spending it taking your aunt to a dialysis appointment. But you knew you couldn’t complain. “Don’t worry, Uncle Jesse can pick her up. He’ll be done with work by then.”

You grabbed a light jacket before heading out the door.

After stepping into your car, you found a station playing the news and local forecasts. You smiled as the weatherman foretold high and cool winds. You were thankful for your past self, from just a few minutes ago.

Pulling into the parking lot of _Local Market_ , the chain grocery store where you spent most of your time, you noticed that it was particularly busy for this time of day. Somebody else is opening today, so you expected to see some of your colleague’s cars, but there were about two you didn’t recognize. Could someone really be trying to grocery shop at 7AM?

“Hey.” Your manager greeted you upon entering the story. It was a soft, quiet, tired greeting. Not that he was sick of you, more like your presence reminded him of his duties and thus, of so much else. “Actually, I have a special request of you today.” You meet with him in a room in the back of the moderately-sized store which stood as the employee room or break room. “We got a new girl today. Keyera’s giving her a tour and then she’ll be back in here. I’m gonna have her shadow you. Like, she’s not gonna take any customers until 12. I just want her to watch what you do and maybe you can help her get a hang of how we do things here.” His eyes are sincere. In his mind, he’s telling himself that he can’t do all this himself, he’s got a store to run, but on the other hand, he’s wondering if this might be too much for you, too much to ask.

You can see the deliberation going on behind his eyes. “Yeah. Okay. That’s fine.” He pats you on the shoulder and quickly leaves the room, and you start eating a bagel that was sitting in a box left on a table in the break room. It’s taking a while for the girl to show up. Keyera was probably talking too much. You decided to screw around on your phone for a bit, and after a few moments, the door creaks open softly. Your eyes shoot up at the person entering the room. “Ah.” You say, putting your phone in your pocket. “Hi,” she says, as softly as she opened the door. “Oh. Uhm. Are you [Y/N]?” She asks, still not fully in the room. “Yeah, yeah I am,” you answer nervously. You were never really good with meeting people for the first time. Its even hard for you to talk to customers until you seen them two or three times. “Oh, okay, well in that case,” she comes fully into the small break room, though you kind of wish she hadn’t as the space existing between just the two of you felt so awkward, “I’m Sidney. Matt told me to shadow you.” She gave a gentle smile. “Right. Yeah, so I guess you can just watch me at the register. I’m not really sure how its supposed to work, but I guess you can just stand next to me.”

The two of you exited the break room at a slow pace – you, because you didn’t really want to go to the register and her, because she was following you. “Basically, I just sit here all day. People come by, they put their shit on the conveyor belt, you scan it – they did show you how to scan right? – well you scan everything and then tell them their total, make sure to ask if they want a receipt or not, and always tell them to enjoy their day.” You put on a cheeky, over-exaggerated smile as you finish your description. “Yeah, they showed me how to scan and how to use the register and all the codes and shit.” She smiles back, not as cheeky or exaggerated. In her smile, you notice a glint of something, not sure what it is, but it catches you off guard. You clear your throat. “Matt might ask me to restock at some point today. If you’re not busy, you can help me out with that.” You say as fiddle around with a pen left by the register for people who want copies of their receipts. Sidney just nods her head and says “Okay.”

It’s getting close to 7:30 now, still no customers, which is normal for a Monday. “So, how long have you been working here?” Sidney asks you, as she’s still standing awkwardly right by your side as you serve no customers in a near-vacant grocery store. “Oh, actually, just a few months. Half a year, probably.” Sidney simply nods her head at the answer, unsure of how to keep the conversation going. Mom texts you again, reminding you of your earlier promise. You respond, reminding her that you remembered. A few of your other coworkers pass by periodically and wave to you and Sidney. The stockers, unloaders, cleaners, and label checkers – they’ve all got work to do, while you and Sidney simply wait in what feels like an everlasting absence of patronage. That is, until a few minutes pass and customers begin to show, the first of which are usually the elderly who don’t work but are still always awake at this time. After that, you have some other adults, usually people who work at night or stay-at-home parents. As it gets closer to 12, your lunch break, Sidney watches it all.

“To be honest with you, I’m a little nervous.” Sidney says as the clock on her phone reads 11:43. “Don’t be. You’ll be fine, and if you need help, you can always ask somebody.” You say, before a customer makes their way to your station and you ring them up, the last thing you do before taking your break. “I’m out, Matt. I’ll be back in 45.” You yell to a corner of the store, where your manager leans against the end of a refrigerated cheese section. He’s tapping away on his phone, perhaps doing calculations, perhaps not. As you leave the store to rush to your car, you look back and see Sidney nervously operating the register at her station. She fidgets with the buttons and uses way too many bags. It’s fine. You’ll help when you get back.

It takes you no time to get to your aunt’s house. She lives in the same neighborhood, a neighborhood you know very well. It takes about 15 minutes to get her to the hospital. _Maybe there’ll still be time._ Much to your disappointment, there wasn’t. But at least your aunt gave you $5 for gas. When you got back to the store, you took a prepackaged sandwich and wolfed it down in the break room. Matt turned his head when he saw you leaving the room well past your break time. You scanned the empty packaging of the sandwich and put the appropriate amount of money into the register. Sidney was on the register behind you. “Hey, did you take a break today?” You turned around and called out to her. “Uh, no. I’m not even sure when I’m supposed to.” She lets out a nervous laugh. “I would ask Matt,” you respond. “Sure.” 

As it approaches 8PM, the day begins to wind down. A few last minute customers with last minute needs straggle around the store. A voice over the intercom announces that the store will be closing in 30 minutes. 

“Hey! Thanks for telling me about the break. Mine’s at 12:30 apparently.” Sidney approaches you after clocking out for the day. She is carrying a light backpack on her back and wears a pair of glasses she hadn’t had on earlier. For some reason, you are a little bummed that her break isn’t at the same time as yours, but it makes sense. “No problem. Have a good night.” You say a little absent-mindedly, as you’re reading a text from mom thanking you for taking your aunt today. Your stomach grumbles a little bit and all you can think about is what you’ll have for dinner tonight.

You made your way back home, which was easy as there’s usually less cars on the road at 8PM than, say, 4PM. You do a quick scan of the fridge to determine what might be palatable. Oh, goody. A chicken pot pie mom brought over days ago. You wonder why it wasn’t eaten days ago. No matter, it would have to do. 

After eating the meal, you make your way into the shower before knocking out for the day. Before falling into a blissful sleep, you whisper to yourself. _Please, let tomorrow be a good day._


End file.
